Optical distribution and splice frame including vertical cable managers

ABSTRACT

An optical distribution and splice frame system includes rack(s), enclosure(s), cable management component(s), and/or cassette(s) that have features to allow for different cable management configurations not yet available in the market. A fiber optic cassette and enclosure are designed to enable flexibility in cable management configurations for the overall system.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims benefit to U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationNo. 63/079,739, filed Sep. 17, 2020, and to U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 63/231,457, filed Aug. 10, 2021, the entirety of all ofwhich are incorporated by reference herein.

BACKGROUND

Optical fibers allow for transmission of communications over longerdistances and at higher bandwidths than wire cables. Optical fibers arealso advantageous for communication systems because signals suffer lessloss than wire cables and are immune to electromagnetic interference.Optical fibers are therefore often used for high bandwidth, longdistance applications. One of the primary functions of a data center isto provide connections between incoming and outgoing optical fiberconnections.

For example, an optical distribution and splice frame may be used toprovide cable interconnections between a network provider and thefacilities receiving the communications data. However, not allfacilities are the same and may require different cable managementconfigurations. Thus, a system that includes rack(s), enclosure(s),cable management component(s), and/or cassette(s) having the features toallow for different cable management configurations that are not yetavailable in the market may be advantageous.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure describes embodiments of a vertical cable managerfor use in a optical distribution and splice frame system. The verticalcable manager provides enhanced cable management capabilities.

According to some embodiments, a cable management system is disclosed.The cable management system comprising a rack, an enclosure configuredto be installed onto the rack, a vertical cable manager configured to besecured to a first side of the rack, the vertical cable managercomprising a first vertical panel including a plurality of aperturesarranged in a predetermined pattern, a first management featureconfigured to attach to the first vertical panel via at least one of theplurality of apertures, and an incoming cable manager configured tosecure to a second side of the rack, the incoming cable managercomprising a second vertical panel including a plurality of openingsarranged in a predetermined pattern, and a second management featureconfigured to attach to the second vertical panel via at least one ofthe openings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a cable management system,according to some embodiments.

FIG. 2 is a front perspective view of the cable management system shownin FIG. 1 having doors attached, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 3 is a partially exploded view showing the sub-systems thatcomprise the cable management system shown in FIG. 1, according to someembodiments.

FIG. 4 is a front perspective view of a first exemplary enclosure thatmay be installed into the cable management system, according to someembodiments.

FIG. 5 is rear perspective view of the enclosure shown in FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a top-down view of the enclosure shown in FIG. 4.

FIG. 7 is a front perspective view of the enclosure shown in FIG. 4having trays pulled out in various states of use, according to someembodiments.

FIG. 8 is a close-up partial view of a portion in the enclosure shown inFIG. 4 where a tray and a cable slack manager are secured together,according to some embodiments.

FIG. 9 is a close-up partial view of a portion in the enclosure shown inFIG. 4 where a tray and a first type of outer cable manager are securedtogether, according to some embodiments d.

FIG. 10 is a top-down partial view of the cable slack manager in an openposition.

FIG. 11 is a top-down partial view of the cable slack manager in aclosed position.

FIG. 12 is perspective view of the cable slack manager.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a top side to a top cover included inthe cable slack manager.

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of a bottom side to the top cover includedin the cable slack manager.

FIG. 15 is a perspective view of a second type of outer cable managersecured to the enclosure.

FIG. 16 is a perspective view showing a back side of the second type ofouter cable manager secured to the enclosure.

FIG. 17 is a first perspective view of a dividing wall including railguides on both a first side and an opposite second side.

FIG. 18 is a second perspective view of a dividing wall including railguides on both a first side and an opposite second side.

FIG. 19 is a perspective view of the tray installed into the enclosureshown in FIG. 4.

FIG. 20 is a front perspective view of a second exemplary enclosure thatmay be installed into the cable management system, according to someembodiments.

FIG. 21 is a rear perspective view of the enclosure shown in FIG. 20.

FIG. 22 is a perspective partial view of the enclosure shown in FIG. 20being installed into an enclosure rack.

FIG. 23 is a perspective partial view of the enclosure shown in FIG. 20installed into the enclosure rack.

FIG. 24 is a top-down view of the enclosure shown in FIG. 20.

FIG. 25 is a perspective view of the enclosure shown in FIG. 20 with atop cover removed to view internal components of the enclosure.

FIG. 26 is a perspective view of an individual tray that may beinstalled into the enclosure shown in FIG. 20, according to someembodiments.

FIG. 27 is a close-up partial view of a cable manager.

FIG. 28 is a close-up partial view of the cable manager shown in FIG. 27in a maintenance position.

FIG. 29 is a perspective view of the tray including a removable railinstalled, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 30 is a perspective view of the tray including two removable railsinstalled, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 31 is a side partial view of the enclosure shown in FIG. 20 havinga side wall removed to reveal trays installed and positioned at variouspredetermined positions, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 32 is a perspective partial view of the enclosure shown in FIG. 20having a side wall removed to reveal internal components including afinal stop bracket, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 33 is a perspective view of a first exemplary cassette for use inthe cable management system, according to some embodiment.

FIG. 34 is an perspective exploded view of the first exemplary cassetteshown in FIG. 33.

FIG. 35 is a top-down partial view of the first exemplary cassette witha top cover removed to reveal internal components.

FIG. 36 is a perspective view of a second exemplary cassette for use inthe cable management system, according to some embodiment.

FIG. 37 is a perspective exploded view of the second exemplary cassetteshown in FIG. 36.

FIG. 38 is a top-down partial view of the second exemplary cassette witha top wall removed to reveal internal components.

FIG. 39 is a perspective view of a third exemplary cassette for use inthe cable management system, according to some embodiment.

FIG. 40 is a perspective exploded view of the third exemplary cassetteshown in FIG. 39.

FIG. 41 is a top-down partial view of the third exemplary cassette witha top cover removed to reveal internal components.

FIG. 42 is a front view of the third exemplary cassette showing openingsfor receiving fiber optic adapters.

FIG. 43 is a perspective view of a fourth exemplary cassette for use inthe cable management system, according to some embodiment.

FIG. 44 is a perspective exploded view of the fourth exemplary cassette.

FIG. 45 is a perspective partial view of the fourth exemplary cassetteshowing an installation of a splice tray into a bottom floor of thefourth exemplary cassette.

FIG. 46 is a partial perspective view of the fourth exemplary cassetteshowing the splice tray installed into the bottom floor.

FIG. 47 is a top-down partial view of the fourth exemplary cassette witha top cover removed to reveal internal components.

FIG. 48 is a perspective view of an enclosure rack including both anexemplary enclosure and pass-through cable manager installed, accordingto some embodiments.

FIG. 49 is a perspective view of the pass-through cable manager.

FIG. 50 is a perspective exploded view of the pass-through cablemanager.

FIG. 51 is a close-up view of the pass-through cable manager installedonto the enclosure shown in FIG. 48.

FIG. 52 is a perspective rear view of the pass-through cable managerinstalled onto the enclosure and the rear-side trunk passage formed bythe pass-through cable manager.

FIG. 53 is a perspective view of an exemplary vertical cable managerinstalled between two enclosure racks, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 54 is a close-up perspective view of a bottom trunk passage formedby the vertical cable manager and the enclosure racks shown in FIG. 53.

FIG. 55 is a perspective view of an exemplary spool for installing ontothe vertical cable manager shown in FIG. 53, according to someembodiments.

FIG. 56 is a rear-side view of the spool shown in FIG. 55.

FIG. 57 is a side view of the spool shown in FIG. 55.

FIG. 58 is a perspective view of a cable plate for securing onto theincoming cable management system shown in FIG. 3, according to someembodiments.

FIG. 59 is a perspective partial view of the cable plate having cablessecured via exemplary cable securing components, according to someembodiments.

FIG. 60 is a perspective view of the cable plate including an exemplarycable securing component secured, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 61 is a perspective partial view of the cable plate includingexemplary cable securing components secured, according to someembodiments.

FIG. 62 is a perspective partial view of the cable plate secured to anenclosure rack as shown in FIG. 1, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 63 is a front head-on view of a cable management system includingan exemplary arrangement of two vertical cable managers, according tosome embodiments.

FIG. 64 is a front view of a two different sized cable plates, accordingto some embodiments.

FIG. 65 is a front perspective view of an incoming cable managementsystem including a pattern of cable plates, according to someembodiments.

FIG. 66 is a perspective view of a portion to the third exemplarycassette shown in FIG. 39.

FIG. 67 is a sectional view along the line 67-67 for an adapter includedFIG. 66.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

This disclosure describes embodiments of a cable management system(e.g., an optical distribution and/or splice frame system) includingcomponents that enable enhanced flexibility for installing and managingcables into unique configurations for use in a network environment. Thefront access features also provide the components to be mounted againsta wall.

FIG. 1 shows an exemplary cable management system 100 comprising avertical cable manager system 130, an enclosure rack system 120 securedto both sides of the vertical cable manager system 130, and an incomingcable management system 110 (e.g., including an end panel) secured toeach of the enclosure rack system 120 at the outer ends. Each of thesystems comprising the cable management system 100 may have apredetermined width to allow for standardized components andarrangements of components within the cable management system 100. Forexample, the vertical cable manager system 130 may have a width of 300mm, the enclosure rack system 120 may have a width of 600 mm, and theincoming cable management system 110 may have a width of 150 mm. Thecable management system 100 offers a level of standardized modularitythat allows users to reliably plan their network systems, while alsoproviding the flexibility of enhanced options that fit a wide range ofnetwork system design requirements that other more rigid systems cannotprovide.

FIG. 2 shows an exemplary embodiment where doors are attached to a frontside of the cable management system 100. In particular, a door 40 isattached to a front side of the enclosure rack systems 120, a door 50 isattached to the vertical cable manager system 130, and a door 60 isattached to the incoming cable management systems 110.

FIG. 3 is a partially exploded view of the cable management system 100showing each of the sub-systems that may comprise the cable managementsystem 100. As illustrated, the vertical cable manager system 130 ispositioned in a center portion of the cable management system 100, andone enclosure rack system 120 is secured to each side of the verticalcable manager system 130. Then to each remaining side of the enclosurerack system 120, an incoming cable management system 110 is secured tomake up the outer ends of the cable management system 100. In thisexemplary arrangement the overall width of the cable management system100 is 1800 mm.

Incoming cables may work their way through the cable management system100 by being received by the incoming cable management system 110 at afirst end, routed to a cassette held by an enclosure in the adjacentenclosure rack system 120, routed out to the vertical cable managersystem 130, routed to a cassette held by an enclosure in the adjacentenclosure rack system 120 at a second end (opposite the first end), thenrouted to the incoming cable management system 110 at the second end tobe send to an intended destination. Specifically, the incoming cablemanagement system 110 includes a vertical panel 111 that holds a numberof cable plates 150, 160 for securing incoming cables into predeterminedconfigurations, and the vertical cable manager system 130 includes aplurality of spools 140 for routing the cables from the first sideenclosure rack system 120 to the second side enclosure rack system 120.For example, FIG. 3 shows a plurality of cable plates 150, 160 arrangedinto a staggered design from each other, and the spools 140 are arrangedinto a diamond offset design. The cable plate 160 is shown to have asmaller size (e.g., due to shorter height) than the cable plate 150.

The arrangement of the spools 140 may be according to a predetermineddesign to optimize organization of the cables, and/or for standardizinga travel distance for cables being routed through the cable managementsystem 100. In other words, by using predetermined arrangements ofspools 140 within a predetermined configuration of sub-systems in acable management system (e.g., the 1800 mm cable management system 100shown in FIGS. 1 and 3), the cable lengths for cables being routedthrough the cable management system 100 can be more accuratelycalculated. By standardizing a travel distance for cables being routedthrough the cable management system 100, pre-cut cables that aremanufactured into predetermined (standardized) lengths for use in thecable management system 100 may be used, thus providing further ease ininstallation. Further description on the cable organization offered bythe predetermined positioning of the cable plates 150 on the verticalpanel 111 and the predetermined positioning of cable managementaccessories on the cable plates 150 will be provided in more detailbelow.

According to other embodiments, other arrangements of the sub-systemsare provided and enabled. For example, FIG. 63 shows an alternativeembodiment of the cable management system 1000 where the center portionis comprised of two vertical cable manager systems 130 secured adjacentto each other. The added width provided by the two vertical cablemanagement systems 130 within the center portion of the cable managementsystem 1000 allows for different, and more, arrangements of spools 140hanging from the vertical cable management system 130 that would not bepossible when using just a single vertical cable manager 130 as in thecable management system 100 shown in FIG. 1. The overall width of thecable management system 1000 is increased to 2100 mm by adding theadditional vertical cable manager 130.

Further description of the components comprising the sub-systems of thecable management system 100 is now provided. FIG. 4 shows an exemplaryenclosure 200 that may be installed into the enclosure rack system 120.The enclosure 200 is a 4 RU sized enclosure, although the enclosure 200may be modified into other rack sized dimensions (e.g., 1 RU, 2 RU, 3RU) by reducing a number of cassette tray rows according to otherembodiments.

The enclosure 200 includes a front access door 21 located at a frontside, where the front access door 21 rotates about a hinge 27 to openand closed positions. In the open position the front access door 21rotates down to enable access into the enclosure 200, and in the closedposition the front access door 21 rotates up to close off access intothe enclosure 200. The front access door 21 includes two latches 25located at opposite sides of the front access door 21, as well as aturning latch 26 acting as a locking mechanism and located at a centertop of the front access door 21. The latches 26 may include latch hooksfor attaching into latch openings on a top cover 24 of the enclosure200. According to other embodiments, the turning latch 26 may be removedfrom its position at a center between the two latches 25, and berelocated to under one or both of the two latches 25.

The enclosure 200 also includes a housing comprised of two side walls 23positioned at opposite ends to each other, a top cover 24 connecting thetwo side walls 23 at a top portion, and a bottom floor 28 (shown in FIG.5). Mounting brackets 22 are secured to each side wall 23 and then usedto secure the enclosure 200 to rack posts 121 included in the enclosurerack system 120. According to some embodiments, the mounting brackets 22used for the enclosure 200 may be switched out for wider sizedalternatives such as mounting brackets 32 shown on enclosure 300 in FIG.21, to accommodate installation onto rail posts of the enclosure racksystem 120. The enclosure 200 also includes a first type of outer cablemanager 230 on one side, and a second type of outer cable manager 231 ona second (opposite) side. Depending on the positioning of the enclosure200 relative to the vertical cable manager system 130 or otherapplication use case considerations, the sides of the enclosure 200 onwhich the first type of outer cable manager 230 and the second type ofouter cable manager 231 are secured may be swapped.

FIG. 5 shows a rear side of the enclosure 200 is left mainly open otherthan a stop brace 29 and a divider wall 240 for holding tray guides. Thestop brace 29 is included at the rear of the enclosure 200 within thefiber cassette holding portion 202 to prevent the trays 210 fromextending out through the rear opening. According to some embodiments,the stop brace 29 may not be included in the enclosure 200. As shownmore clearly from the rear view of the enclosure 200, the enclosure 200is partitioned into a dynamic cable slack manager portion 201 and afiber cassette holding portion 202, where the two portions are dividedby the divider wall 240. As the overall width of the enclosure 200 is 1RU width (e.g., EIA standard 19″ width), the width of the dynamic cableslack manager portion 201 is approximately ¼ RU width, while the widthof the fiber cassette holding portion 202 is approximately ¾ RU width.Within the dynamic cable slack manager portion 201 are stored dynamiccable slack managers 220. Within the fiber cassette holding portion 202are stored cassette trays 210 for holding cassettes. The cassette trays210 are configured to hold a single triple wide cassette, or othercombinations of single wide and double wide cassettes by using removabledivider rail(s), as will be described in more detail herein.

As the enclosure 200 is a 4 RU spaced enclosure, it has a standard RUwidth and a 4 RU height including 12 rows for trays holding cassettes.FIG. 6 is a top-down view of the enclosure 200 that provides someexemplary dimensional measurements. For example, a first width w₁ of theenclosure 200 measured from side wall 23 to side wall 23 isapproximately 17-18 inches (e.g., 17.35 inches/440.58 mm), a secondwidth w₂ measured from mounting bracket 22 to mounting bracket 22 isapproximately 19-20 inches (e.g., 19.11 inches/485.51 mm), and a thirdwidth w₃ measured from the outer cable manager 230 to the outer cablemanager 231 is approximately 20-21 inches (e.g., 20.48 inches/520.14mm). A first depth d of the enclosure measured from the latch to a rearof the enclosure 200 is approximately 11-12 inches (e.g., 11.81inches/299.91 mm).

FIG. 7 shows the enclosure 200 having the bottom two rows of cassettetrays 210 and cable slack managers 220 extended to different degrees.The cassette trays 210 and cable slack managers 220 may be extended outto one or more extended positions, and preferably three extendedpositions, as enabled by stopping positions within tray guides insidethe enclosure 200. FIG. 8 shows a close-up of how the cable slackmanager 220 secures to the cassette tray 210. The front side of thecassette tray 210 includes a front loop 213 for guiding cables beingrouted out from cassettes installed into the cassette tray 210.Fasteners 229 may be used for fastening portions of the cassette tray210 to the cable slack manager 220. In addition or alternatively, thecable slack manager 220 may be secured to a flange coming up from thebottom of the cassette tray 210. FIG. 8 also shows portions of a frontstrip 211 in the cassette tray 210, where the front strip 211 includesminor openings 212 that may enable an installer to use a finger (orother object) to push up and through the minor openings 212 to assist inremoving an installed cassette. The cassette tray 210 also includes amajor opening 214 which is larger than the minor opening 212, which mayalso assist an installer to push up and through the minor openings 212to remove an installed cassette.

FIG. 9 shows a close-up view of how the outer cable manager 231 securesto the cassette tray 210. Fasteners 229 may be used for fasteningportions of the cassette tray 210 to the outer cable manager 231. Inaddition or alternatively, the outer cable manager 231 may be secured toa flange coming up from a bottom of the cassette tray 210. The outercable manager 231 includes a passage 30 for guiding cables thatoriginates from the attached front loop 213 and travels to an exitopening away from the cassette tray 210. The top ceiling to the passage30 is partially covered by a plurality of fingers 30-1.

FIG. 10 shows a top-down view of the cable slack manager 220 in an openposition where the cable slack manager 220 is fully extended out. Fromthis view, an exemplary first cable 10 and an exemplary second cable 20may be routed from cassettes (not illustrated) installed in the cassettetray 210 via the front loop 213, through the cable slack manager 220,and finally out through the outer cable manager 230. Specifically, thecables 10, 20 enter into the cable slack manager 220 via an enteropening 236, and exit the cable slack manager 220 via a wide mouthedexit opening 237. In between the enter opening 236 and the exit opening237, the cables 10, 20 travel via a tunnel pathway defined by bendradius features 221, 222 while laying on top of a tray floor 224.Partially covering a ceiling of the tunnel pathway are a plurality ofceiling fingers 227. A slidable cover 223 is also included foradjustably allowing access into the tunnel pathway by sliding between anopen and closed positions. FIG. 10 shows the slidable cover 223 in anopen position. In a closed position (as shown in FIG. 11), the slidablecover 223 slides into a position that covers at least a portion of thetunnel pathway.

FIG. 11 shows the cable slack manager 220 in a closed position where ithas been slid back fully into the enclosure 200. The cable slack manager220 allows the cables 10, 20 to stay aligned, stress-free, and staticwith respect to their respective mated cassette during all times when auser is accessing the fibers. In other words, the bend radius features221, 222 work to maintain the cable bend radii and reduce themotion/stress on the fiber connector adapters on the cassettes thatwould otherwise occur if the cables 10, 20 were to move while thecassette tray 210 slides without the aid of the cable slack manager 220.For example, when the cable slack manager 220 transitions from the openposition to the closed position, the only movement of the cables 10, 20occurs past the bend radius feature 222 in the middle portion of thetunnel pathway. Then the cables 10, 20 exiting out the exit opening 237only have approximately 2″ to 3″ of movement compared to the 6″ relativemovement of the cable slack manager 220. This greatly reduces thetension on the cables 10, 20 at the point where they exit the enclosure200 and enter into the cable slack manager 220 at the enter opening 236,as well as at their respective adapters.

FIG. 12 provides a view of a finger grab portion 225 at the front of thecable slack manager 220. The finger grab portion 225 includes features(e.g., protrusion and grooves) for enabling a user to pull the cableslack manager 220 between the open position and the closed position. Thepathway tunnel is shown to include two ceiling fingers 227 near theenter opening 236, and two ceiling fingers 226 at other positions (e.g.,midway) within the tunnel pathway. Different variations in the numberand placement of the ceiling fingers 226, 227 are considered within thescope of the cable slack manager 220 in other alternative embodiments.

FIG. 13 shows a top side of the slidable cover 223 that includes abutton latch 228. The button latch 228 is configured to provide alocking mechanism that engages a locking latch portion on the cableslack manager 220 when the slidable cover 223 is in the closed positionto lock the slidable cover in place. Then when the button latch 228 ispushed down, the locking mechanism is disabled by the button latch 228disengaging from the locking latch portion on the cable slack manager220 which allows the slidable cover 223 to slide open into the openposition. FIG. 14 is a perspective view showing a bottom side of theslidable cover 223 that includes latching features for engaging thelocking latch portion on the cable slack manager 220.

FIG. 15 shows the second type of outer cable manager 230 configured tobe secured directly to a side wall 23 of the enclosure 200. The outercable manager 230 includes a side wall 234, a bottom floor 233, and atop ceiling 232. On an opposite side to the side wall 234 is a partiallyopened wall covered by a plurality of wall fingers 2381. There are threewall fingers 238 shown in FIG. 15; however different numbers of wallfingers 238 may be provided according to alternative embodiments of theouter cable manager 230. FIG. 16 shows a back side to the outer cablemanager 230 where fastener openings 235 are shown. The fastener openings235 are used to insert fasteners for securing the outer cable manager230 to the enclosure 200.

FIG. 17 shows the dividing wall 240 that divides the dynamic cable slackmanager portion 201 and the fiber cassette holding portion 202. FIG. 18shows an opposite side of the dividing wall 240 from the view shown inFIG. 17. One side of the divider wall 240 is configured to slidably holdthe cassette trays 210, while the other side of the divider wall 240 isconfigured to slidably hold the cable slack manager 220. The dividerwall 240 includes rail guides 244 on both sides, where each rail guide244 includes a number of detents that correspond to stop positions forthe cassette trays 210 and cable slack managers 220. For example, thedivider wall 240 shown in FIGS. 17-18 include three detentscorresponding to three stop positions: a first detent 241 correspondingto a fully inserted position, a second detent 242 corresponding to anintermediate position, and a third detent 243 corresponding to a fullyextended position (e.g., an access/install position). The divider wall240 also includes a final stop member 245 that may be included whichprovides a final stopping member to abut against the rails of thecassette tray 210 or cable slack manager 220 to prevent them from beingfully removed from the enclosure 200.

FIG. 19 shows the cassette tray 210 to include two side rails 218 atopposite sides, a bottom floor 219, a back wall 216, and a front strip211. At a front end of the side rails 218 are front loops 213, where thefront loops 213 include a ‘D’ ring design having a disconnected portionto allow cables to be inserted and removed from within the ring definedby the front loops 213. Towards a back end of the side rails 218 are astop protrusion 217. The stop protrusion 217 is configured to bereleasably inserted into the detents 241, 242, 243 to define thedifferent stop positions. The stop protrusion 217 may be made from aflexible material, such as a spring metal, so that the stop protrusion217 may flex into one of the detents 241, 242, 243 when the stopprotrusion 217 is aligned with one of the detents 241, 242, 243, andalso flex out of the detents 241, 242, 243 when a sliding push or pullforce is asserted to the cassette tray 210 to disengage from the detents241, 242, 243.

As shown in FIG. 19, the front strip 211 includes minor openings 212 forreceiving attachment features of a divider rail (e.g., divider rail 350as shown in FIG. 29) for attaching the divider rail onto the cassettetray 210. The front strip 211 also defines a major opening 214 that alsoallows fingers or other tools to access the connector adapters (e.g.,plug and/or unplug) during maintenance procedures, as well as to push upin an effort to remove cassettes that are installed on to the cassettetray 210. The back wall 216 defines a lip that serves as a stop memberto prevent installed cassettes from falling through the rear of thecassette tray 210. The back openings 239 provide clearance for cassettesand/or divider rails that are installed by rotating them into place ontothe bottom floor 219 of the tray 210. Although rear install/removal isnot enabled for the enclosure 200, according to other embodiments theback openings 239 may further allow a finger or other tool to push up inan effort to remove cassettes that are installed on to the cassette tray210. The floor openings 215 may come in different shapes to accommodatedifferent removable divider rails to enable different sized cassettesbeing installed onto the same sized cassette tray 210, as will bedescribed in more detail later in this disclosure (e.g., divider rail350 as shown in FIG. 29).

FIG. 20 shows a second exemplary enclosure 300 that may be installedinto the enclosure rack system 120 of the cable management system 100.The enclosure 300 is a 4 RU sized enclosure, although the enclosure 300may be modified into other rack sized dimensions (e.g., 1 RU, 2 RU, 3RU) by reducing a number of cassette tray rows according to otherembodiments.

The enclosure 300 includes a front access door 31 located at a frontside, where the front access door 31 rotates about a hinge 37 to openand closed positions. In the open position the front access door 31rotates down to enable access into the enclosure 300, and in the closedposition the front access door 31 rotates up to close off access intothe enclosure 300. The front access door 31 includes two latches 35located at opposite sides of the front access door 31, as well as aturning key 36 acting as a locking mechanism and located at a center topof the front access door 21.

The enclosure 300 also includes a housing comprised of two side walls 33positioned at opposite ends to each other, a top cover 34 connecting thetwo side walls 33 at a top portion, and a bottom floor 38 (shown in FIG.21). Mounting brackets 32 are secured to each side wall 33 and then usedto secure the enclosure 300 to rack posts 121 included in the enclosurerack system 120. As shown in FIG. 22, the mounting brackets 32 include alower lip for the enclosure 300 to rest on top of, thus providing a moresecure installation onto the rack posts 121. The mounting brackets 32may be pre-installed to the rack posts 121, and then the enclosure 300may be slid on top of the lip surface for final installation as shown inFIG. 23. The enclosure 300 also includes outer cable managers 330, 340that mirror each other on opposite sides of the enclosure 300.

FIG. 21 shows a rear side of the enclosure 300 to be open other than astop brace 39 for preventing trays 310 from falling out the rear of theenclosure 300. According to some embodiments, the stop brace 39 may beremoved from the enclosure 300. As shown more clearly from the rear viewof the enclosure 300, the enclosure 300 is partitioned into a fibercassette holding portion 302, and an open space 301 on either side ofthe fiber cassette holding portion 302. As the overall width of theenclosure 300 is 1 RU width, the width of the fiber cassette holdingportion 302 is approximately ¾ RU width, while the remaining open space301 both combine to be approximately ¼ RU width. Within the fibercassette holding portion 302 are stored cassette trays 310 for holdingcassettes. The cassette trays 310 are configured to hold a single triplewide cassette as described herein, three single wide cassettes, or acombination of single wide and double wide cassettes, as will bedescribed in more detail herein.

As shown in FIG. 24, a first width w₁ measured as a width of thecassette tray 310 is approximately 11-12 inches (e.g., 11.98inches/304.42 mm), a second width w₂ measured from the edges of theouter cable managers 330, 340 is approximately 17-18 inches (e.g., 17.35inches/440.59 mm), and a third width w₃ measured from end to end of thebottom floor 38 is approximately 19-20 inches (e.g., 19.68 inches/500.07mm). The enclosures 200, 300 has a depth d of approximately 11-12 inches(e.g., 11.79 inches/300 mm).

FIG. 25 shows the enclosure 300 having the bottom two rows of cassettetrays 310 extended to different degrees. FIG. 26 is a perspective viewof the cassette tray 310, which is the same or substantially the same asthe cassette tray 210. The cassette tray 310 includes two side rails 318at opposite sides, a bottom floor 319, a back wall 316, and a frontstrip 311. At a front end of the side rails 318 are front loops 313,where the front loops 313 include a disconnected portion to allow cablesto be inserted and removed from within the ring of the front loops 313.Towards a back end of the side rails 318 are a stop protrusion 317. Thestop protrusion 317 is configured to be releasably inserted into detentsfound on rail guides that the side rails 318 are configured to travelon, where the detents define the different stop positions. The stopprotrusion 317 may be made from a flexible material, such as a springmetal.

As shown in FIG. 26, the front strip 311 includes a plurality of minoropenings 312, and also defines a major opening 314 that is larger thanany one of the minor openings 312. The back wall 316 defines a lip thatacts as a stop member to prevent installed cassettes from fallingthrough the rear of the cassette tray 310. Back openings 339 are alsoincluded at a rear portion of the bottom floor 319. The floor openings315 may come in different shapes to accommodate different floor dividerrails, as will be described in more detail later in this disclosure (seee.g., FIG. 29). The floor divider rails may be installed at differentlocations on the bottom floor to enable different sized cassettes beinginstalled onto the same sized cassette tray 310.

In FIG. 27 the cassette tray 310 is in a fully inserted position withinthe enclosure 300, while FIG. 28 shows the cassette tray 310 in a fullyextend out position. FIG. 27 shows a close-up view of how the outercable manager 330 is secured to the front loop 313, and has a flared outshape such that a flared exit 335 is larger than the input opening atthe front loop 313. The outer cable manager 330 includes a bottomsurface 338 on which the cables 10 are routed on top of, as well as aplurality of fingers 338-1, 338-2 for partially closing a top roof ofthe outer cable manager 330. The flared exit 338-3 is also defined byexit loop 313-1 having a flexible opening, similar to the front loop313, that prevents cables 10 from accidentally being removed from theouter cable manager 330, but also provides the capability tointentionally remove the cables 10 when desired. The outer cable manager330 also includes a front face having a first label surface 336 and asecond label surface 337 for placing adhesive backed labels.

In the fully extended out position shown in FIG. 28, the cables 10 areshown to have traversed within the outer cable manager 330 to restagainst the curved walls provided by the flared exit 335. By allowingthe cables 10 to traverse within the outer cable manager 330, and inparticular within the flared exit 335, cable movement at the cassettelocation where the adapters are installed is nearly eliminated.Therefore, this greatly reduces unwanted tugging (i.e., stress forces)on the cables at their adapter locations within the cassettes whichcould lead to degraded optical performance of the cables 10 due tophysical disconnections/deformities in the fiber cables 10 as the traysare moved to different positions.

FIG. 29 is a front perspective view of the cassette tray 310 (orcassette tray 210), showing the divider rail 350 installed. Although thecassette trays 210, 310 are illustrated to fit triple wide cassettes,the divider rail 350 may be installed to enable installation ofdifferent sized cassettes onto the cassette trays 210, 310. For example,the installation location for the divider rail 350 in FIG. 29 enablesinstallation of a single wide cassette and a double wide cassette ontothe cassette tray 310. In the exemplary embodiment illustrated in FIG.30, the installation locations for the two divider rails 350, 351 enableinstallation of three individual single wide cassettes.

FIG. 31 is a side view of the enclosure 300 having side wall 33 removedto show the internal components that enable the sliding mechanisms ofthe cassette tray 310. The enclosure 300 is equipped with rail guides334 having a number of detents 331, 332, 333 for accepting the stopprotrusion 317 to create a same number of stop positions. The railguides 334 include a first detent 331 (fully inserted stop position), asecond detent 332 (intermediate stop position), and a third detent 333(fully extended stop position). For exemplary purposes, cassettes ingroup A are positioned in the fully inserted stop position, cassette Bis positioned in the intermediate stop position, and cassette C ispositioned in the fully extended stop position. Based on the uniquedimensions of the enclosure that includes the open spaces 301 at theouter side edges of the enclosure 300, a final stop bracket 360 isprovided (as seen in FIG. 32) for providing the final stop member 345positioned beyond the third detent 333 and configured to prevent thecassette tray 310 from falling out the enclosure 300. This slidingmechanism is the same, or substantially the same for the sliding of thecassette tray 210 within the enclosure 200.

FIG. 33 shows a first exemplary cassette 400, and FIG. 34 shows aperspective exploded view of the cassette 400. The cassette 400 includesa top cover 420 and housing body 410, where the top cover 420 is securedto the housing body 410 using a plurality of fasteners 401 that fitthrough fastener openings 403 in the top cover 420 and screwed intofastener openings 402 in the housing body 410. The top cover 420 may bemade from aluminum to increase rigidity while reducing overall weight ofthe cassette 400. The housing body 410 may be made from a molded plasticmaterial.

The housing body 410 includes a front face 404 that includes a firstopening 411 for installing a first adapter 430, and a plurality ofsecond openings 412 for installing a group of second adapters 440. Thefirst adapter 430 may be a duplex MPO adapter, and the second adapter440 may be a duplex LC adapter. According to other embodiments, thefirst adapter 430 may be a group of two simplex MPO adapters, with thecorresponding first openings 411. As shown in FIG. 34, the first opening411 has a width w₃ and each of the second openings 412 have a width w₄for receiving their respective adapters. Second openings 412 may beseparated by a first dividing wall 413 having a first thickness/width,where the first dividing wall 413 is slightly recessed in from the frontface 404. Every second of the second openings 412 may be separated by asecond dividing wall 421 having a second thickness/width that isslightly larger than the first thickness/width. The second adapters 440and their respective second openings 412 are grouped into two groups, afirst group 441 including six of the second adapters 440 and a secondgroup 442 including six of the second adapters 440. The second openings412 corresponding to the first group 441 and the second openings 412corresponding to the second group 442 are separated by a third dividingwall 414 that is thicker/wider than the first dividing wall 413 and thesecond dividing wall 421. The cassette 400 allows for up to 24 fiberconnections using the 12 LC duplex adapters. An area of the front face404 including either a front opening 411 or second opening 412 isgreater than an area that does not include such openings.

The housing body 410 further includes side walls 416 at opposing sides,a back wall 417. On the side walls 416 are included a front post 422, arear post 419, and a release latch 418.

FIG. 35 shows the inner workings of the housing body 410 where a firstfan out of fibers 431 from the first adapter 430 (first MPO) isconfigured to be routed to the second set of adapters 440 in the firstgroup 441, and a second fan out of fibers 432 from the first adapter 430(second MPO) is configured to be routed to the second set of adapters440 in the second group 442. A width w₁ for the area covering the secondadapters 440 is approximately 175.5 mm, while a width w₂ for the firstgroup 441, or second group 442, of second adapters 440 is approximately84.9 mm. A width w₅ for the cassette 400 measured between the side walls416 is approximately 292.61 mm (11.52 inches). In this configuration,the cassette 400 enables up to 24 fiber connections, and up to 72 fiberconnections per RU space. FIG. 35 also shows fiber wall protectors 423on both the side walls 416, where the fiber wall protectors 423 preventthe individual fibers 431, 432 within the housing body 410 from movingto the side walls 416 where they might be pinched by the top cover 420during assembly. The fiber wall protectors 423 include a rounded endportion that curves in towards the inside of the cassette 400. Therounded ends assist in contouring the fibers 431, 432 as they travelfrom their fanouts from the first adapters 430 to the second adapters440. Protruding tabs 424 on either side further help prevent the fibers431, 432 from moving over the tops of the side walls 416 where they areat risk of being pinched during assembly when the top cover 420 isbrought down onto the housing body 410.

FIG. 36 shows another exemplary cassette 500, and FIG. 37 shows aperspective exploded view of the cassette 500. The components comprisingthe cassette 500 are substantially the same as the cassette 400. Themain difference is that a front face 504 of the housing body 510includes a different type of first adapters 530 and subsequently,different sized front openings 511 for the first adapters 530 comparedto the first adapter 430 in cassette 400. The top cover 520 may also bemodified to account for the shape and dimensions of the first adapters530 that are different from the first adapter 430. The number and layoutof the group of second adapters 440 and corresponding second openings412 in the cassette 500 are the same as in cassette 400.

The top cover 520 is secured to the housing body 510 using a pluralityof fasteners 501 that fit through fastener openings 503 in the top cover520 and screwed into fastener openings 502 in the housing body 510. Thetop cover 520 may be made from aluminum to increase rigidity whilereducing overall weight of the cassette 500. The housing body 510 may bemade from a molded plastic material. The housing body 510 furtherincludes side walls 516 at opposing sides, and a back wall 517. On theside walls 516 are included a front post 522, a rear post 519, and arelease latch 518.

The housing body 510 includes the front face 504 having first openings511 for installing the first adapters 530, and a plurality of secondopenings 412 for installing the second adapter 440. The first adapter530 may be two separate epoxy cable transition adapters, and the secondadapter 540 may be the duplex LC adapters also installed into thecassette 400. The epoxy cable transition adapters are described, forexample, in more detail in U.S. patent app. Ser. No. 16/245,441 (filedJan. 11, 2019), now U.S. Pat. No. 10,656,360 (issued May 19, 2020), theentirety of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein. Each ofthe first openings 511 have a width w₃ to accommodate the epoxy cabletransition adapters, and each of the second openings have a width w₄ forreceiving their respective adapters same as in cassette 400. Thecassette 500 includes the same number of second adapters 440 as thecassette 500, thus also allowing for up to 24 fiber connections. An areaof the front face 504 including either a front opening 511 or secondopening 412 is greater than an area that does not include such openings.

FIG. 38 shows the inner workings of the housing body 510 where a firstfiber cable 531 coming into a first adapter 530 will fan out to thesecond adapters 440 in the first group 441, and a second fiber cable 532coming into a first adapter 530 will fan out to the second adapters 440in the second group 442. In this configuration, the cassette 500 enablesup to 24 fiber connections, and up to 72 fiber connections per RU space.The widths (w₁, w₂, w₄) corresponding to the second adapter 440 and theoverall cassette width w₅ are the same as provided in the cassette 400.FIG. 38 also shows fiber wall protectors 523 along both the side walls516, where the fiber wall protectors 523 prevent the individual fibersfrom the cables 531, 532 within the housing body 510 from moving to theside walls 516 where they might be pinched by the top cover 520 duringassembly. The fiber wall protectors 523 include a rounded end portionthat curves in towards the inside of the cassette 500. The rounded endsassist in contouring the fibers from the cables 531, 532 as they travelfrom their fanouts from the first adapters 530 to the second adapters540. Protruding tabs 524 on either side further help prevent the fibersfrom the cables 531, 532 from moving over the tops of the side walls 516where they are at risk of being pinched during assembly when the topcover 520 is brought down onto the housing body 510. Although two epoxytransition type of first adapters 530 each supporting up to 12 fiberconnections are shown, according to other embodiments a single epoxytransition type of first adapter and corresponding single first openingmay be used instead that supports up to 24 fiber connections.

FIG. 39 shows another exemplary cassette 600, and FIG. 40 shows aperspective exploded view of the cassette 600. The components comprisingthe cassette 600 are substantially the same as the cassette 400. Themain difference is that a front face 604 of the housing body 610includes a different type of integrated first adapter 630 andsubsequently, different sized front opening 611 for the integrated firstadapter 630 compared to the first adapter 430 included in the cassette400. The top cover 620 may also be modified to account for the shape anddimensions of the first adapter 630 that are different from the firstadapter 430. The number of the second adapters 440 and correspondingsecond openings 412 in the cassette 600 are increased from the cassette400 to now include 18 duplex LC adapters enabling up to 36 fiberconnections in the cassette 600.

The top cover 620 is secured to the housing body 610 using a pluralityof fasteners 601 that fit through fastener openings 603 in the top cover620 and screwed into fastener openings 602 in the housing body 610. Thetop cover 620 may be made from aluminum to increase rigidity whilereducing overall weight of the cassette 600. The housing body 610 may bemade from a molded plastic material. The housing body 610 furtherincludes side walls 616 at opposing sides, and a back wall 617. On theside walls 616 are included a front post 622, a rear post 619, and arelease latch 618.

The housing body 610 includes the front face 604 that includes firstopening 611 for installing the integrated first adapter 630, and aplurality of second openings 412 for installing the groups of secondadapters 440. The integrated first adapter 630 is actually provided intwo parts. As shown in FIG. 66, the first part to the integrated firstadapter 630 comprises a flexible boot 632, and the second part comprisesan integrated epoxy transition 606. The integrated epoxy transition 606is integrated as part of the housing body 610 that defines the firstopening 611. The integrated epoxy transition 606 includes an epoxy fillhole 605 on a top roof, an exit hole 607, and a tapered cable tunnel 608that defines an inner housing formed into the housing body 610. Byintegrating the epoxy transition elements into the housing body 610directly, the need for a separate epoxy transition component (e.g., asused in cassette 500) is obviated. This reduces the overall footprint ofthe epoxy transition features in the cassette 600, which enablesadditional space on the front face 604 to include the high-densitynumber of second openings 412 for installing the groups of secondadapters 440 (e.g., duplex LC adapters).

As shown in FIG. 67, the first opening 611 is configured to receive theflexible boot 632 that is installed to hold the cable 631. The firstopening 611 is the beginning to the tapered cable tunnel 608, where theflexible boot 632 is installed into the first opening 611. The cable 631may be installed through a boot opening 632-1 and into the tapered cabletunnel 608. Inside the tapered cable tunnel 608, the outer jacket 631 eto the cable 631 may be stripped to expose a coated bundle of fibers 631g (e.g., Acrylate coated bundle). Epoxy may then be injected via theepoxy fill hole 605 into the tapered cable tunnel 608 to hold theexposed fibers and/or bundled fibers in place. The individual fibers 631f are then fanned out from the exit hole 607 and routed to theirrespective second adapters 440.

Each of the second openings have a width w₄ for receiving theirrespective adapters same as in cassette 400. The cassette 600 is ahigher density cassette that includes 18 of the second adapters 440(e.g., duplex LC adapters), for a total of up to 36 fiber connections,which translates to up to 108 fiber connections per RU space. An area ofthe front face 604 including either a front opening 611 or secondopening 612 is greater than an area that does not include such openings.

FIG. 41 shows the inner workings of the housing body 610. An incomingfiber cable 631 is coupled to the first adapter 630, and fibers from thecable 631 are configured to fan out into a plurality of fibers insidethe housing body 610 to connect to each of the second adapters 440. Thesecond adapters 440 are arranged in three distinct groups: a first group641, a second group 642, and a third group 643. Each of the first group641, the second group 642, and the third group 643 have a uniform layoutsimilar to the groups in cassette 400, where each group 641, 642, 643have a width of w₂ that is approximately 3.33 inches along the frontface 604.

FIG. 41 further shows where a fiber cable 631 coming into a firstadapter 530 will fan out to the second adapters 440 in the first group641, the second group 642, and the third group 643. In thisconfiguration, the cassette 600 enables up to 36 fiber connections,which translates to up to 108 fiber connections per RU space. The widths(w₂, w₄) corresponding to the second adapter 440 and the overallcassette width w₅ are the same as provided in the cassette 400. FIG. 38also shows fiber wall protectors 623 along both the side walls 616,where the fiber wall protectors 623 prevent the individual fibers fromthe cables 631 within the housing body 610 from moving to the side walls616 where they might be pinched by the top cover 620 during assembly.The fiber wall protectors 623 include a rounded end portion that curvesin towards the inside of the cassette 600. The rounded ends assist incontouring the fibers from the cables 631 as they travel from theirfanouts from the first adapter 630 to the second adapters 540.Protruding tabs 624 on either side further help prevent the fibers fromthe cable 631 from moving over the tops of the side walls 616 where theyare at risk of being pinched during assembly when the top cover 620 isbrought down onto the housing body 610.

As shown in FIG. 42, a width w₁ of the area occupied by the secondadapters 440 is approximately 10.49 inches, while a width w₅ of theoverall cassette 600 is approximately 11.52 inches. A width w₇ of thecassette 600 including the front posts 422 is approximately 11.98inches. A height h₂ of the cassette is approximately 0.46 inches. Aheight hi for the second opening 412 is approximately 0.39 inches, whilea width w₆ of two second openings 412 adjacent to each other isapproximately 1.06 inches. Each set of two second openings 412 may beseparated by the second dividing wall 421 that is thicker than the firstdividing wall 413, where the second divider wall 421 is thinner than thethird dividing wall 414. The individual dimensions relating to thesecond opening 412 and dividing walls 413, 414, 421 may be the same forother cassettes 400, 500.

FIG. 43 shows another exemplary cassette 700, the cassette 700 allowingfor ambidextrous input cable insertion. FIG. 44 shows the cassette 700includes a top cover 720 and housing body 710. The top cover 720includes a top surface 721 and a thumb latch 724 for assisting insliding the top cover 720. The top cover 720 also includes slidingretention features (e.g., hooks) 723 for engaging corresponding slidingretention features 713 (e.g., latches) on the housing body 710. Thesystem of sliding retention features 713, 723 engage together to securethe top cover 720 to the housing body 710, as well as to disengage toallow the top cover 720 to be removed from the housing body 710.

The housing body 710 includes a front face 704 that includes firstopenings 711, 712 on opposite sides to enable cables 701, 702 to beinstalled on either side, or even both sides, of the housing body 710.Second adapters 740 may be installed into second openings 745 that arealso included on the front face 704, where the second openings 745 maybe the same dimensions as the second openings 412 discussed herein. Afirst set 741 of the second adapters 740 may be separate from a secondset 742 of the second adapters 740. The second adapters 740 may beduplex LC adapters, so that the cassette 700 includes 12 duplex LCadapters for up to 24 fiber connections, and up to 72 fiber connectionsper RU space.

The housing body 710 includes side walls 716 at opposing sides, a backwall 717, and a bottom floor 715. A front post 722, a rear post 719, andrelease latch 718 are included in the side walls 716. The bottom floor715 includes a removable splice protector insert 714. As shown in FIG.45 the splice protector inserts 714 are installed from the bottom intotray openings 734 in the bottom floor 715.

FIG. 46 shows the splice protector insert 714 as it is installed ontothe bottom floor 715. Snap latches 731 of the splice protector insert714 are configured to insert and snap into corresponding latch openings732 in the bottom floor 715 for securing the splice protector insert 714to the bottom floor 715. The splice protector insert 714 includesvarious protection features 733 for holding and protecting fiber splicecomponents.

FIG. 47 illustrates fiber routing features inside the housing body 710of the cassette 700. On the inside of the housing body 710, each sideincludes a routing wall 746 configured to define a routing path forincluding cables on one side. The routing walls 746 have a rounded bendfor routing internal fibers towards the splice protector insert 714located more in the center of the bottom floor 715, as well as topfingers to prevent fibers from reaching up and touching the top cover720. The inside of the housing body 710 also includes rear routing walls747 having a rounded bend and top fingers. The inside of the housingbody 710 also includes a center wall 743 having rounded ends 744 and topfingers. As shown in FIG. 47, the incoming cables 701, 702 can fit intoeither the left side first openings 711 or the right side front openings712 to offer enhanced installation flexibility options for an installer.The cables may be inserted into the openings 711, 712 and secured usinga cable tie, with the optional to use a screw to further secure thecable's strength member to the openings 711, 712. According to someembodiments, cables 701, 702 may be installed into both the left sidefirst openings 711 and the right side front openings 712. One or more ofthe left side first openings 711 or the right side front openings 712may be plugged closed when not in use to receive the cables 701, 702.

FIG. 48 shows an exemplary pass-through cable manager 800 of theenclosure rack system 120, where the pass-through manager 800 isconfigured to be installed under an enclosure (e.g., enclosure 200, 300)to provide additional cable management features for routing cablesinterfacing the enclosure 200.

FIG. 49 shows the pass-through cable manager 800 including apass-through shelf 806, spools 809 that are installed onto thepass-through shelf 806, a rear trough 810, a rear trough cover, reartrough supports 811 for holding up the rear trough 810, brackets 804,jumper manager fingers 805 configured to attach to the brackets 804 toprovide cable routing, and rear bend radius supports 808 for routingcables on the rear trough 810. FIG. 50 is a perspective exploded view ofthe pass-through cable manager 800, that additionally provides a view ofpass through supports 807 that are attached to an under-side of thepass-through shelf 806.

FIG. 50 is a perspective close-up view of the pass-through cable manager800 as it is installed under the enclosure 200. The pass-through cablemanager 800 is secured to the rack posts 121 using the brackets 804. Inthis view, the cable 801 can been seen coming down from the enclosure200, routed using the jumper manager fingers 805, down onto thepass-through shelf 806, and back to a rear side where the cables 801 arefurther routed away on the rear trough 810. As shown, the differentjumper manager fingers 805 may be secured to the bracket 804 to be atdifferent spaced locations and/or different relative angles to eachother. Although not illustrated in FIG. 51 specifically, according toother embodiments the cables 801 may be further routed around the spools809 that are installed on the pass-through shelf 806.

FIG. 52 shows rear side view of three pass-through cable managers 800installed adjacent to each other, to better show how a rear-side trunkpassage can be created by the rear tough 810 for routing cable from theenclosure 200. When multiple pass-through cable managers 800 areinstalled adjacent to each other, the rear-side trunk passage that isformed can route cables 801, 802 in either direction within the overallcable management system 100.

FIG. 53 shows the vertical cable manager system 130 having an enclosurerack system 120 attached to both sides. The vertical cable managersystem 130 includes a vertical panel 131, a waterfall attachment 133 forbending cables over a top of the vertical panel 131, and a bottom base136. The vertical panel 131 includes a plurality of holes 132 arrangedin a predetermined pattern for securing one or more spools 140. Cablesthat are connected to either enclosure rack system 120 may be routed viathe spools 140 on the vertical cable manager system 130. The spools 140may be installed onto the vertical panel 131 in a predetermined patternto enable organized routing of cables from the enclosure rack system 120on the first side to the enclosure rack system 120 on the second side.For example, FIG. 63 shows the spools 140 positioned into uniquecascading patterns on each of the vertical cable manager systems 130, sothat there is minimal, or no, vertical and/or horizontal overlap.

As shown in FIG. 54, when connecting the vertical cable manager system130 to the enclosure rack system 120, the bottom base 136 form a trunkpassage comprising a front trough pathway 124 and a pass-through 134provided by the bottom base 136. The pass-through 134 provided by thebottom base 136 further offers a passage that connects the front troughpathway 124 to a rear trough pathway 125, 135.

FIG. 55 shows an exemplary spool 140 that includes a mounting plate 141that includes a tab 142, a cylindrical body 143, and a front face 144formed in a diamond shape. The front face 144 includes two recessedpockets 145 for attaching labels 146, and may further include a faceplate 103 that covers the front face 144. FIG. 56 shows a rear side ofthe mounting plate 141 to further illustrate mounting features used tosecure the spool 140 to the vertical panel 131 via one or more holes132. The mounting features include a protrusion 148 for fitting into ahole 132, and two hooks 149 for latching into respective holes 132. FIG.57 shows a side view of the spool 140 to better provide dimensionalmeasurements. For example, a height hi of the front face 144 isapproximately 5.7 inches, and a height h₂ from the cylindrical body 143to a top of the front face 144 is approximately 1.5 inches. Cables areintended to rest on the cylindrical body 143, and the front face 144 isused to prevent the cables from falling off the front of the spools 140.

FIG. 58 shows the cable plate 150 that may be installed onto thevertical panel 111 at fixed locations, via the holes 112, of theincoming cable management system 110. The cable plate 150 includes aplurality of different openings for securing different cable managementaccessories for managing incoming trunk cables such as anchor kits 16,tubing brackets 18, and transition holders 62. The openings includedifferent sized slits (e.g., large slits 151, medium slits 154, smallslits 153), and holes 152 that may be arranged into predeterminedpatterns. The cable plate 150 also includes mounting slots 155 forattaching fasteners used to secure the cable plate 150 to the holes 112in the vertical panel 111.

FIG. 59 shows an exemplary embodiment where cables 10, 11 (e.g., trunkcables) and components are secured to the cable plate 150. An outerjacket 10-1 of the cable 10 may be secured to the cable plate 150 viathe medium slits 154 using a cable tie 12. A transition point 13 to thecable 10 is an end piece to the cable 10 that is secured to the cableplate 150 via the large slit 151 using a plurality of cable ties 12.Another cable 11 is shown to have a corresponding transition point 14secured to the cable plate 150 via the medium slit 154 using a pluralityof cable ties 12. The transition points 13, 14 are representative of andend piece to a trunk cable coming into the cable management system 100where the outer jacket of the trunk cable is terminated and secured intoplace using epoxy or other similar material for securing internal cablesin place. Then the multi-fiber cables that are included in the trunkcables are fanned out into their own individual furcation tubes as theyexit the transition point, where each furcation tube is their own fiberoptic cable having a predetermined number of fibers (e.g., 12 fibers)for being routed to the enclosures and cassettes in the enclosure racksystems 120.

FIG. 60 shows an exemplary anchor kit 16 that secures onto the cableplate 150 via a hole 152, where the anchor kit 16 is configured toreceive and stabilize a central strength member 15 from a cable (seee.g., FIG. 60). The central strength member 15 may be a fiberglass rodlocated in the center of the fiber optic cable 10, which providesrigidity and robustness to the overall cable construction.

FIG. 61 shows an exemplary fiber breakout assembly coming from the cable10 and when using the cable plate 150. The outer jacket 10-1 of thecable 10 is directly secured to the cable plate 150 using cable ties 12and the large slits 151 at the transition point 14. At this transitionpoint, the cable 10 is transitioned to partition the individualmulti-fiber cables into the breakout fan assembly before being insertedinto breakout tubing 17, where the breakout tubing is held into a tubingbracket 18 that is secured to the cable plate 150 usingplungers/grommets 19 inserted into the small slits 153 and holes 152.From the transition point 14 also comes out the central strength member15 from the cable 10, where the central strength member 15 is insertedthrough an opening 7 in the anchor kit 16. A screw 5 is then tightenedto secure the central strength member 15 to the anchor kit 16, whichprovides stability and limits movement of the central strength member 15after installation.

FIG. 62 shows another exemplary arrangement where a transition holder 62(e.g., Panduit's HD Flex transition) is secured to the cable plate 150by inserting the plungers/grommets 19 into the openings in the cableplate 150. The transition holder 62 is designed to hold a plurality oftransitions 64. Spool brackets 63 attached to the rack post 121 arepositioned to receive cables from the transitions 64 and take up anyexcess cable length (i.e., cable slack) for the cables that are routedto the enclosure mounted on the rack post 121.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the enclosure rack system 120 is provided toinstall up to eleven (11) 4 RU sized enclosures 200, 300 when fullypopulated. FIGS. 1 and 3 further show that in addition to the largersized cable plate 150 described thus far, the incoming cable managementsystem 110 may also include a smaller sized cable plate 160. The smallersized cable plate 160 is functionally the same, having the same featuresas the larger sized cable plate 150, but just having smaller heightdimensions. According to an exemplary embodiment, the larger sized cableplate 150 may be configured to enable ingress/egress cable managementrouting for up to four (4) of the enclosures 200, 300 installed onto theenclosure rack system 120 (e.g., consecutive enclosures), while thesmaller cable plate 160 may be configured to enable ingress/egress cablemanagement routing for up to three (3) of the enclosures 200, 300installed onto the enclosure rack system 120 (e.g., consecutiveenclosures). Different sized cable plates for enabling ingress/egresscable management routing for different number of enclosures may beprovided according to other embodiments.

In an effort to provide enhanced organization features, the surface areaof the cable plates 150, 160 may be partitioned to be dedicated to aspecific enclosure that is installed onto the enclosure rack system 120.FIG. 64 shows the cable plates 150, 160 having partition lines overlayedto show exemplary areas that are dedicated to receive cables foringress/egress to specific enclosures. Each row outlined onto the cableplates 150, 160 is representative of a different dedicated enclosure. Sofor cable plate 160, row 1 includes areas (row-column) 1-1, 1-2, 1-3,and 1-4 that are dedicated to a first enclosure, row 2 includes areas2-1, 2-2, 2-3, and 2-4 that are dedicated to a second enclosure, and row3 includes areas 3-1, 3-2, 3-3, and 3-4 that are dedicated to a thirdenclosure. For cable plate 150, row 1 includes areas (row-column) 1-1,1-2, 1-3, and 1-4 that are dedicated to a first enclosure, row 2includes areas 2-1, 2-2, 2-3, and 2-4 that are dedicated to a secondenclosure, row 3 includes areas 3-1, 3-2, 3-3, and 3-4 that arededicated to a third enclosure, and row 4 includes areas 4-1, 4-2, 4-3,and 4-4 that are dedicated to a fourth enclosure.

FIG. 65 shows an exemplary arrangement of cable plates 150-1, 150-2,160-1 installed onto the vertical panel 111 for managing cableingress/egress for up to eleven (11) enclosures installed onto theenclosure rack system 120. Like the pattern shown in FIGS. 1 and 3. thecable plates 150, 160 themselves are installed in a cascading patternfrom each other. Now within each of the cable plates 150-1, 150-2,160-1, this exemplary arrangement provides a dedicated area on each ofthe cable plates 150-1, 150-2, 160-1 for managing cables going todedicated enclosures. For example, on the first large cable plate 150-1an area 1-1 is dedicated for managing cables to a first enclosure, anarea 2-2 is dedicated for managing cables to a second enclosure, a thirdarea 3-3 is dedicated for managing cables to a third enclosure, and anarea 4-4 is dedicated for managing cables to a fourth enclosure. On thefirst small cable plate 160-1 an area 1-1 is dedicated for managingcables to a fifth enclosure, an area 2-2 is dedicated for managingcables to a sixth enclosure, and a third area 3-3 is dedicated formanaging cables to a seventh enclosure. On the second large cable plate150-2 an area 1-1 is dedicated for managing cables to an eighthenclosure, an area 2-2 is dedicated for managing cables to a ninthenclosure, a third area 3-3 is dedicated for managing cables to a tenthenclosure, and an area 4-4 is dedicated for managing cables to aneleventh enclosure. Each of the areas within the individual cablesplates 150-1, 150-2, 160-1 is shown to be in a cascading patternaccording to the areas described in FIG. 64, which enables little to nooverlap in the adjacent areas to maximize organization of cables thatare ingressing/egressing to the enclosures.

While the particular preferred embodiments described herein have beenshown and described, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art thatchanges, and modifications, may be made without departing from theteaching of the embodied features described in this disclosure. Thematter set forth in the foregoing description and accompanying drawingsis offered by way of illustration only and not as limitation. The actualscope of the disclosure is intended to be defined in the followingclaims when viewed in their proper perspective.

What is claimed is:
 1. A cable management system comprising: a rack; anenclosure configured to be installed onto the rack; a vertical cablemanager configured to be secured to a first side of the rack, thevertical cable manager comprising: a first vertical panel including aplurality of apertures arranged in a predetermined pattern; a firstmanagement feature configured to attach to the first vertical panel viaat least one of the plurality of apertures; and an incoming cablemanager configured to secure to a second side of the rack, the incomingcable manager comprising: a second vertical panel including a pluralityof openings arranged in a predetermined pattern; and a second managementfeature configured to attach to the second vertical panel via at leastone of the openings.
 2. The cable management system of claim 1, whereinthe first management feature is a spool configured to be removablysecured to the first vertical panel according to a predeterminedpattern, wherein the predetermined pattern enables use of pre-cut cableshaving a predetermined cable length.
 3. The cable management system ofclaim 2, wherein the predetermined pattern is a cascading pattern wherethe spool does not overlap with a neighboring spool in both a verticalor horizontal direction on the first vertical panel.
 4. The cablemanagement system of claim 2, the spool including a face plateconfigured to attach to the spool, and wherein the face plate isconfigured to receive a label.
 5. The cable management system of claim2, the spool including at least two locking buttons for attaching thespool to the first vertical panel and a release tab for detaching thespool from the first vertical panel.
 6. The cable management system ofclaim 1, wherein the second management feature is a cable platecomprising a plurality of rectangular slits and a plurality of clearanceholes.
 7. The cable management system of claim 6, wherein the cableplate is configured to secure an anchor kit via a clearance hole.
 8. Thecable management system of claim 6, wherein the cable plate isconfigured to secure a tubing bracket via at least two of therectangular slits, the tubing bracket configured to hold at least onebreakout tubing.
 9. The cable management system of claim 1, wherein thesecond management feature is a cable plate configured to be secured tothe second vertical panel in a predetermined pattern, wherein thepredetermined pattern enables use of pre-cut cables having apredetermined cable length.
 10. The cable management system of claim 9,wherein the predetermined pattern is a cascading pattern where the cableplate does not overlap with a neighboring cable plate in both a verticalor horizontal direction on the second vertical panel.
 11. The cablemanagement system of claim 9, wherein the cable plate is partitionedinto a plurality of distinct areas, each of the distinct areas beingdedicated to routing cables to a predetermined enclosure installed intothe rack.